Canada : support torture victims

Canada avoids deporting individuals to any country where they would be at risk of persecution, torture, or cruel and unusual punishment. With a few exceptions, anyone ordered removed from Canada may apply for a pre-removal risk assessment. "Security certificate" legislation specifically bans the use of any evidence believed to have been obtained as a result of torture, but allows special restriction on individuals who are inadmissible to Canada but whose deportations could lead to torture in their home countries. The Canadian Network for the Health of Survivors of Torture and Organized Violence which includes NGOs around Canada supports survivors of torture. Canadian NGOs such as the Canadian Center for Victims of Torture regularly train Canadian immigration officers and adjudicators on how best to work with survivors of torture. Canadian regulations prohibit deporting individuals to a country where they would be at risk of persecution, torture, or cruel and unusual punishment. Individuals given a removal order from Canada can request a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) conducted by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), which will consider written evidence submitted by the claimant. (Note: Individuals subject to extradition who came from a safe third country, who are recognized as a Convention Refugee by a country to which they can return, or who are repeat refugee protection claimants less than six months after previously leaving, are not eligible for a PRRA. End note.) If CIC accepts the claim, Canada will grant "protected person" status, allowing the individual to apply for permanent residence. If CIC rejects the claim, the individual may appeal to Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Under Canada's "security certificate" legislation, the government may detain and deport non-citizens (including permanent residents) whom the government deems inadmissible to Canada under various security-related provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). The Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism and the Minister of Public Safety must both sign a warrant for detention when the government considers that an individual presents a danger to national security and/or is unlikely to appear at a proceeding for removal. The Federal Court must review the "reasonableness" of each request for a security certificate. Persons subject to removal have the right to a PRRA conducted by CIC, subject to a further review by a Federal Court judge. If the judge determines that a person faces a risk of torture or death in his/her country of origin greater than the risk he/she poses by remaining in Canada, the judge may stay the removal order and the individual may be detained pending deportation, or released subject to whatever monitoring the judge may deem appropriate. Security-screened lawyers known as "special advocates" have access to confidential evidence on which the government based its decision to seek security certificates. Revised legislation in February 2008 specifically bans the use of any Qlegislation in February 2008 specifically bans the use of any evidence believed to have obtained as a result of torture. Five individuals remain under security certificates in lieu of deportation, but none are currently in formal detention facilities. Canadian NGOs actively support victims of torture, including Convention Refugees, asylum seekers, permanent residents, and others in need of treatment. In 1993, the Canadian Center for Victims of Torture (CCVT) in Toronto, the Intervention Network for Persons Affected by Organized Violence (RIVO) in Montreal, and the Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture (VAST) in British Columbia created the Canadian Network for the Health of Survivors of Torture and Organized Violence (CanNet). CanNet builds coalitions across the country to protect and rehabilitate survivors of torture. Survivors are referred by other institutions or may also be self-referred. Other CanNet organizations include the Canadian Mental Health Association's Committee to Assist Survivors of War and Torture in Ottawa, the Cross Cultural Counseling Program in Winnipeg, the Edmonton Center for Survivors of Torture and Trauma, the Catholic Immigration Society's Support Program for Survivors of Torture in Calgary, and the Victoria Coalition for the Survivors of Torture in British Columbia. Most of these NGOs are also members of the Canadian Council for Refugees. The Canadian Refugee and Immigrant Counseling Services in Toronto, Needs Center for War Affected Families in Winnipeg, and "Cercle d'entraide pour les refugies ayant subi la violence organisee" in Quebec also support torture victims. The Toronto-based Canadian Center for Victims of Torture (CCVT) helps survivors integrate into Canadian society and raises awareness of the effects of torture and war on survivors. It offers mental health counseling, crisis intervention, art therapy, education (including English as a Second Language and computer training), coordinated professional services, and support groups (which have included a Somali Women's Group, African Women's Group,Albanian Family Group, and Iranian Men and Women's Groups). A group of doctors, lawyers, and social service professionals founded CCVT in 1983 to provide specialized counseling. It is reportedly the second oldest facility in the world. In 2003, the CCVT received accreditation from the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims. The CCVT's volunteer board includes educators, former service users, and community activists. With support from the UN Voluntary Fund for Torture Victim, CCVT has conducted international cooperation projects, including rehabilitation centers in Central America, South Africa, and Ethiopia. CCVT also collaborates closely with U.S. NGOs. Since its establishment, CCVT has assisted over 14,000 torture survivors from more than 136 countries. CCVT Executive Director Mulugeta Abai told Poloff that CCVT had treated 1,800 survivors from 73 countries in 2008 alone. According to Abai, CIC provides over 80 percent of its C$1.3 million budget. Other funders include the governments of Ontario province and the City of Toronto. CCVT regularly provides training about torture and its impact on survivors to CIC, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), and the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), educating immigration officers and other front line workers. Training is tailored to the needs of government agency. According to CIC Training Coordinator Kathleen Nectoux, CIC's refugee adjudication course features a special module on interviewing techniques for "sensitive" applicants,covering victims of gender-based violence and torture, including how to detect and approach such cases. Established in 1986, the Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture (VAST) offers survivors psychological QSurvivors of Torture (VAST) offers survivors psychological and somatic therapy, counseling, and legal assistance while raising public awareness about torture and encouraging sensitivity towards survivors. For many years, VAST observed the UN Day in Support of Victims of Torture by holding a public gathering called "Roses and Thorns," in which staff, volunteers, torture survivors and their families handed out roses with information sheets about torture. VAST Executive Director Christine Thomas told Poloff that its clients largely originate from Mexico, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Montreal-based Intervention Network for Persons Affected by Organized Violence (RIVO) was established in 1990. RIVO treated 459 victims in 2008, averaging 22 hours of therapy per torture victim. The UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, the Canadian Government's Interim Federal Health Plan, and the Quebec Provincial Government's Ministry of Health and Social Services provide funding for RIVO. RIVO partnered with a Rwandan NGO to support children orphaned by the genocide and the loss of parents to AIDS, and who are now heads of household caring for siblings. In 2008, RIVO treated victims from 62 countries, including Mexico (144 individuals), India (53), Colombia (41), Cameroon (22),Nigeria (18), Democratic Republic of Congo (17), and Rwanda (12). Visit Canada,s North American partnership community at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap /